The Witches of New York by Ami Mckay
Genre: Historical Fiction, Paranormal
Eleanor and Abigail are witches. Luckily for them they live a couple hundred years after the fever of witch hunting burned its brightest; ghosts and seances are all the rage, in the right crowd of course. They keep to themselves in their tea shop, doling out herbal remedies, peering into the future, and helping women in need. And when Beatrice, a young wistful curious girl from the countryside, sees their flyer looking for an assistant [[those adverse to magic need not apply]], she jumps at the chance for adventure.
The Witches of New York is a mesmerizing novel which balances introspection with a fast paced plot. It features magic which honors tradition while also allowing for enough innovation to hold my interest. It is populated by a vast array of characters-- perhaps one of my only drawbacks to the novel. When your narrative focus switches between a whole host of characters, it can be difficult to really see character growth. There were a few side plots which I felt were unnecessary to the novel as a whole.
However for the most part I think the author weaves all the stories together in a way that made sense. The characters were easy to fall in love with and easy to root for. They were strong, independent, well written, and it was fun to see them work together/against each other throughout the novel.
The novel is interspersed with newspaper clippings, old stories, flyers, etc. I read this as an ebook and I think the formatting may be better in a print book-- but it was still an enjoyable way to read the novel.
Overall I adored this book; it was lyrical and the magic was so effortless yet avoided falling into cliche. I highly recommend this book; especially if you are interested in historical fiction with a twist.
What about you? Have you read The Witches of New York? What is your favorite witch novel?
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